McAlpine wins £650m embassy job

The reclusive family-owned builder behind a host of London landmarks including the Dorchester Hotel and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium is in line for the most cloak-and-dagger job of all — building the new US embassy.

Sir Robert McAlpine is partnered with US contractor Harbert for the plum £650 million job at Nine Elms in Wandsworth, which is where the embassy will move in 2017 after leaving its Grosvenor Square home of almost 80 years.

Harbert was appointed earlier this month since, under US State Department rules, a foreign firm is not allowed to carry out the works alone for security reasons.

The embassy, designed by architects KieranTimberlake, will feature several landscaped defences including a moat around part of the building to protect against terrorist attacks.

McAlpine’s success means it now has two of the biggest jobs in London construction this year, having also won the deal to build Bloomberg’s new headquarters.

The construction firm was founded more than 140 years ago and the family is worth an estimated £315 million.